Faith of a Child
by capercailiechild
Summary: Fred draws into herself again, and it seems the only one who can get her out is a small boy whose fate is undetermined as of yet.


They brought the boy in. Angel was carrying the boy in his arms. To the room, not noticing, he said, "This is the Heir of Thessaladus, we've found him, he will be safe now." His words shattered the quiet like a bullet through glass.  
  
Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn followed behind him. Cordelia took one look around. "Fred! Fred!" she began yelling. "Are you all right?"  
  
Fred was sitting against the wall in the corner, her head tucked down, her knees drawn up, her whole body shaking. Although the huge window had shattered all over the room, Fred was surrounded by a circle of empty floor.  
  
"Fred, what happened?" Cordelia had knelt down beside her.  
  
"Big," Fred said, her voice muffled by her knees. "Big demon."  
  
"A demon did this?" Wesley asked, looking around at the shattered glass. "I'm not surprised."  
  
Angel set the Heir of Thessaladus down on the floor. The sleeping boy hardly noticed. "What demon? Did you see him? What did he look like?"  
  
"He was. it was him."  
  
Everyone besides Gunn looked confused. Gunn was angry. "It was him?"  
  
"Anyone want to clue in the little lady?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"Him," Gunn said. "The one from Pylea."  
  
"Oh, Fred, I am so sorry," Angel said softly.  
  
Fred's head came up slowly. Her big dark eyes were filled with tears. She was still shaking and her face was pale. "You promised you'd never leave me alone," she said.  
  
"We were just gone a minute." Wesley tried to protest.  
  
"You left me alone!" Her voice was becoming more panicky.  
  
"We know, we know." Cordelia tried to comfort her. "Please, don't cry. We're sorry."  
  
"How did you." Angel thought for a moment, then finished, "How did you get away from him?"  
  
"I hid," she said. "You promised."  
  
"We're sorry." Wesley squeezed her knee in a friendly manner. "We're really sorry."  
  
"Let's go up to bed and give Fred some time to unwind, you know," Angel said. "I'll put the Heir of Thessaladus in the spare bedroom."  
  
The next morning when they came down, Fred was still in the same position against the wall, drawn up in a tight ball. She was mumbling something. As they came closer, they heard, "I'll never close my eyes. I'll never close my eyes. I'll never close my eyes." She was still mumbling as they came over to her. Angel knelt down next to her. "Fred, have you been to sleep?"  
  
"I'll never close my eyes, I'll never close my eyes, I'll never close my eyes." The mantra continued as though she had not heard him.  
  
"Fred."  
  
"I'll never."  
  
They drew back a bit and stood in a huddle, none of them really sure what to do. "What's wrong with her?" Cordelia asked in a whisper.  
  
"Shock, probably," Wesley suggested.  
  
"What do we do?" Gunn questioned.  
  
"We leave her, and hope she snaps out of it," Angel said. "I don't know, though, for some reason that doesn't seem right to me."  
  
No one else had an idea.  
  
It continued for two days, until finally Angel was fed up. He was upset that Fred was in so much pain, that she had finally severed the last tie with reality. "What is wrong with her?" he asked. "Isn't there anyone who could help her?"  
  
"We can check around," Wesley suggested. "Someone might know how to treat shock."  
  
"Where am I?" a thin British voice from behind them asked.  
  
Angel and Wesley turned to see the Heir of Thessaladus standing behind them. "You're at the Hyperion Hotel," Wesley answered. "We were the ones who rescued you, do you remember?"  
  
"Yes. Thank you."  
  
"Most Honorable Heir." Angel began.  
  
"It's Stephan," the boy broke in.  
  
"Apologies. Stephan, would you like something to eat?"  
  
"I'll never close my eyes, I'll never close my eyes, I'll never close my eyes."  
  
"Who is that?" Stephan asked.  
  
"That's Fred."  
  
"Fred? That is not a girl's name," the Heir replied.  
  
"It's short for Winifred," Gunn answered.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" the boy persisted.  
  
"Nothing." Cordelia attempted to smile. "Would you like some breakfast? We have Cap'n Crunch."  
  
"Something's wrong." Stephan appeared not to have heard Cordelia. "She wouldn't be mumbling like that."  
  
"Fred is new to this world," Gunn attempted to explain. "She was badly scared last night."  
  
Stephan went over to where the girl was huddled up against the wall. "I'm Stephan," he said. "What's your name?"  
  
"F-Fred."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Fred. They said you were scared. Me too."  
  
"Demon."  
  
"A demon did it? I'm not surprised. I'm the Heir of Thessaladus," Stephan said. "I know all about demons. My father was a demon-tamer in the 15th Century. I've come all this way through time to save my family." He sat down next to her. "Something has happened to you, something awhile ago."  
  
"Pylea." The word came out in a half-spiteful, half-fearful spit.  
  
Stephan nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry. Were you there?"  
  
"Five. five years."  
  
"I have a cousin who has been there since he was seven, and he would now be twenty-four," Stephan said. "I have come this way from the 15th century to save people like him."  
  
Fred's head came up. Her dark eyes looked at him, this little boy who had suffered so much.  
  
"You're prettier with your head up," he said with a small grin.  
  
He stood and turned towards the rest of the group. "Do you want some Cap'n Crunch?"  
  
She considered him for a moment, all these pent-up emotions screaming through her brain. She wanted to scream and fly apart, fly to pieces inside, but she knew that would be wrong. She wasn't in Pylea. She was here, safe. Nothing could hurt her. Well, some things could. But Stephan was here, and he was good. He was on their side. "Are there any tacos?" 


End file.
